China's larger industrial firms reported an 18.7% increase in first-half profit. Electronics and non-ferrous metals posted the largest gains among major industries, while autos declined.
China's industrial firms above a designated size recorded 3.94799 trillion yuan in combined profit in the first half of 2026, up 18.7% from a year earlier on a comparable basis. The National Bureau of Statistics released the figures at 9:30 a.m. Beijing time on July 27. Revenue rose 6.5% to 69.26 trillion yuan.
June growth slowed from May
Industrial profit increased 15.1% in June from a year earlier, compared with a 21.1% rise in May. The cumulative increase for January through May had been 18.8%, leaving the first-half rate at 18.7%.
The profit margin on operating revenue was 5.70% in the first half, up 0.59 percentage points from a year earlier. Cost per 100 yuan of revenue declined by 0.55 yuan to 84.89 yuan.
Electronics and non-ferrous metals posted the largest gains
Profit in computer, communications and other electronic equipment manufacturing rose 96.9% from a year earlier. The statistics bureau said the sector contributed 8.5 percentage points to overall industrial profit growth.
Within the electronics sector, profit in computer manufacturing increased 689.3%, computer peripheral equipment rose 305.8%, and integrated-circuit manufacturing increased 2,579.5%. These are changes in profit from the comparable year-earlier bases, not production or revenue growth rates.
| Selected industry | First-half profit change |
|---|---|
| Non-ferrous metal smelting and processing | +99.4% |
| Computers, communications and other electronics | +96.9% |
| Chemicals and chemical products | +67.8% |
| Electrical machinery and equipment | -8.6% |
| Automobile manufacturing | -19.5% |
| Non-metallic mineral products | -47.8% |
The broader raw-materials manufacturing group recorded a 71.7% profit increase and contributed 8.8 percentage points to the overall growth rate, according to the bureau.
Mining, manufacturing and utilities diverged
Mining companies reported 574.50 billion yuan in profit, up 33.5%. Manufacturing profit rose 20.1% to 2.97121 trillion yuan. Profit in electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply fell 4.2% to 402.27 billion yuan.
| Broad sector | First-half profit | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Mining | 574.50 billion yuan | +33.5% |
| Manufacturing | 2.97121 trillion yuan | +20.1% |
| Electricity, heat, gas and water | 402.27 billion yuan | -4.2% |
By ownership category, profit at joint-stock companies rose 24.7%, state-controlled companies increased 17.9%, private companies gained 13.0%, and foreign-invested firms including those backed by Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan rose 2.6%.
Auto revenue rose while profit fell
Automobile manufacturers recorded 5.18932 trillion yuan in first-half revenue, up 1.8%. Their operating costs increased 2.8% to 4.61003 trillion yuan, while total profit fell 19.5% to 195.35 billion yuan.
At the end of June, receivables across the surveyed industrial firms were 8.1% higher than a year earlier and finished-goods inventories were up 9.5%. The average collection period lengthened by 0.8 day to 71.7 days, while finished-goods inventory turnover increased by 0.4 day to 21.1 days.
NBS statistician Yu Weining said industrial firms still faced insufficient demand and cash-flow pressure. Reuters reported that Chinese stocks and the yuan were slightly firmer after the release, describing the market reaction as muted.
The survey covers industrial legal entities with at least 20 million yuan in annual main-business revenue. The bureau calculates growth rates on a comparable basis to account for changes in the survey population, corrections to prior-period bases and the removal of duplicate reporting.